First step – Plan Ahead.

The biggest investment you make into networking is your time. And most people don’t budget it adequately to maximize their results. They show up late and leave early. Reverse this – show up early and leave late – and give yourself enough time to connect with people before and after meetings officially start.

Here is a little secret I’m going to share with you that very few people do. Plan and block time to evaluate your results after the meeting.

Was that group a good match for you?
Look through the business cards you collected – did you have an opportunity to really connect with those people?

How will you follow up?
These are just a few questions you should be asking yourself after each meeting. This is just as important as showing up in the first place. Most people skip this step and end up frustrated and overwhelmed because they don’t take the time to “get organized.”

Step number two. Choose wisely where and who you network with.

Again and again people ask me, “There are so many different groups, what are the basic groups and where can I get the biggest bang for a buck?”

First, you have to know that there are no right and wrong groups in general -they are just right or wrong for you.

There are basically four main categories of groups out there:

• Professional associations. Most every larger city will have local chapters of organizations that bring together professionals involved in the same trade. Attorneys, Consultants, Contractors, Manufacturers, and so on – all like to hang out together. With a bit of research you can easily find such groups near you.
• Non-profit organizations. Personally, I think everyone should be involved in some organization that allows them to give back to community. And there are a lot of good causes to get involved in. This gives you good visibility, and access to other local leaders you might find hard to meet otherwise. Plus – it’s just a good habit to contribute time and money to help others.

While you shouldn’t count on getting business from these groups right away, when you do – it will be worth your while many times over – trust me.

Professional networking meetings. Like those organized by your local Chamber of Commerce or other, privately owned groups. While probably the most popular, these can often be a “total mixed bag”, and unless you have a solid plan to “penetrate” the group fast and position yourself as a highly visible COI (more on that later) you’ll be terribly disappointed with results you get from such groups.

Lead Exchange Groups. These typically allow only one person in each profession and meet regularly only for the sole purpose of exchanging leads with each other. While groups composed of well established professionals can be really effective in cross promoting each other’s businesses, in most lead-exchange groups there just two or three people that end up giving and getting most referrals – and everyone else just isn’t getting it.

Frankly, I think that unless you find a group with really savvy, well-established professionals in it – these groups are totally ineffective for the amount of time and money that you are asked to invest in them. (OK, I can just see the flood of emails on this one from people determined to prove otherwise!)

Finally, remember that depending on your business and who your clients are, your best place to network could be a golf-club membership and weekly round of golf. Or a monthly first class flight from one major city to another. And don’t overlook people who already have you as a client. Hey, I stumbled upon an entirely new niche, simply because my daughters needed braces!

Step number three is to prepare your ABC – and that stands for Audio Business Card™.

People judge you by their first impressions of you. And if what you say to them in the first few seconds isn’t clear, compelling and memorable – well, you’ll just slip into oblivion like dozens of others we run into every day and then quickly forget them.

I bet you took at least a few hours, if not a few days, to design your printed business card. But did you take at least 15 minutes to develop and practice your ABC?! I bet not!

Teaching you how to develop a good ABC is a subject for whole new lesson, but here is just the gist of what works and what doesn’t.

Don’t say:

• Your title, like “I’m the president of Blah, Blah, and Blah, Inc” – boring!
• Your label, like “I’m a consultant” – OK, good for you, now tell me “what do you do”?
• Where you live and work – I’ve never met anyone who’s hired me because of my street address!
• How long you’ve been in business – people really don’t care if I stepped off the boat yesterday, or if I’ve lived here my entire life. All they want to know is – if and how I can help them.

Do say:

• Who your ideal clients are.
• What are their biggest problems you solve for your clients.
• How your clients are better off as a result of working with you.
• How to best start benefiting from your services right away (more on that in a moment)

This is really a critical skill. If you don’t know how to create magnetic first impressions and don’t have an effective Audio Business Card – don’t bother leaving your office. Your getting any business from networking will be purely accidental, and your chances for landing a new client or referral are as good as those of being struck by a lightning – if you catch my drift.

Step number four is positioning.

Simply put, most people in the networking environment are prospecting – looking for potential clients. Positioning is about reversing this process – allowing potential clients to FIND YOU. It’s a big difference when you have people coming to you versus you chasing them.

There is an entire process I teach my clients around this concept. And it starts long before you even show up for any meeting. It’s not hard to do. With a bit of cleverness, and some advanced planning, anyone can do it.

Step number five is about preparing bait.

You must have Attraction Tools™ in place. Finding clients is a bit like going fishing. You may love strawberries, but you would never put a strawberry on a fishing hook and throw it in the water because fish don’t like strawberries. So you have to think about what kind of bait your audience likes and prepare that bait.

When I first got started I quickly build a database of over two thousand subscribers to my newsletter, simply by offering an attractive bait, and promoting it effectively by turning my printed business card into an advertising billboard.

Step number six is about meeting COI and becoming a COI – or a Center of Influence!

Every group has a number of core members – a higher echelon reserved for top movers and shakers. These few savvy entrepreneurs likely exchange more business amongst each other than the rest of the group combined.

Your job is to become part of this group as quickly as possible. Effective networking is not only about who you know, but even more importantly about who knows you. So becoming one of the big fish in a small pond is like hitting a lottery jackpot – new business will just keep coming in!

Step number seven is about delivering immediate value.

One of the easiest ways to build relationships and deliver value is by being interested in other people. We all love to talk about ourselves. But when you network, if you are able to temporarily suspend your own need to blabber on about yourself – you’ll instantly be better off than 99% of other people in the room.

Next, keep in mind that people are naturally lazy communicators and lazy thinkers. They tend to say the same thing to everyone they meet. So even a slight variation from their typical pattern makes the moment of meeting you more memorable.

Actually it’s not that hard to say memorable things in an environment where most everyone else is trying to sell something. Dimply DON’T ASK FOR THE BUSINESS! Be curious, ask engaging, challenging questions. Or you can develop a Polish accent (OK, so this one may not work for you as well as it works for me – but it’s worth a try, right?)

Step number eight is about getting maximum visibility.

Once you’ve invested your money and time into actually getting together with other people, you might as well get the biggest bang for your buck out of it, right?

Most people are simply invisible! Even if you meet them, they seem to work so hard on making any impression on you, that you likely forget them right as you turn around to “Hi” to the next person.

Getting visibility is easy – if you know how. Here are just a few simple tips:

• Volunteer to run the registration table.
• Appoint yourself an official greeter and meet everyone as they walk into the room.
• Stand up and share a great resource with everyone in the room
• Ask the speaker a question that will allow everyone else to see your expertise in certain subjects.

Step number nine is simple – Follow up. Follow up. Follow up…

In the last five years I can probably think of less than a dozen people who have actually followed up with me as they promised! Even fewer followed up with me more than once or twice. This is terrible. Some of those people I really wanted to do business with – but they frankly let me down by disappearing.

Aren’t you concerned about how much business you lose by “disappearing” on people after you’ve invested so much of your efforts into connecting with them in the first place?

I learned my ultimate lesson about following up when I was courting my wife. I might have thought I was prince charming, but it took me two years, and multiple “irresistible offers” before she thought that too and bought into the deal. I’ve been now married for fourteen years and have two gorgeous daughters. It would’ve never happened if I didn’t follow-up, and follow-up, and follow-up – for two long years!

Bottom line, you must have a system in place that will allow you to effortlessly and automatically keep in touch with potential clients – “till they buy or die!”

Up-selling means to be able to sell more than what the customer intends to purchase. An effective way of making a more profitable sale, up-selling can be considered a vital skill for the sales personnel. Up-selling does not require one to be pushy, but just convincing enough to encourage the customer to take advantage of the suggested product or service by the sales person. There are numerous strategies on how to up-sell.

Strategies to up-sell:

1. Practice up-selling with the employees: you can encourage your employees to practice up-selling by taking part in the drill. You can set goals and guidelines for them and allow them time to role play.

2. Take into account the customers’ needs: it is important to take into consideration the needs of the customers. There is no need in wasting time over a customer who does not require a specific product. Although you may have set goals to up-sell a particular number of customers per day, that does not mean that you should take unnecessary time and waste it on customers who are not going to need that product.

3. Different levels of products or services: having different levels of products or services makes it easier to up-sell. This means that in the case where you offer three different levels of service to your customers, the least service will be provided for the cheapest offer. You may then be able to convince the customer and up-sell them to a higher level of service.

4. Explain the uniqueness of the product or service: if you are trying to up-sell a product or service, always mention the uniqueness of the product or service and even compare it with other brands.

Thus up-selling is a skill that can be developed with time and practice. However it is important to be able to differentiate between customers to whom products or services can be up-sold. It is not that up-selling has to be tried on each and every customer.

When a salesperson makes an effort to make the customer buy upgraded versions, more expensive items, or other additions, it is known as up-selling. Thus up-selling refers to making the customers aware of the products and services that they were not aware of and also trying to market those products and services that are more profitable.

Companies often teach their employees on how to upsell products and services. Some of these techniques of up-selling are as follows: The most important factor is to be aware of the customers’ needs and requirements. If you can successfully gauge the customer’s budget and background, then you are in a better position to suggest him products and services.

Another very important way of up-selling is by creating a fear about the durability of the product being purchased. This is especially effective in cases of expensive purchases like electronic goods and other consumer durables. An example of this could be the extended warranty offered by the company.

When handing over a particular product to the customer, you can always hand him one or two things more that are similar in nature. With the description of the distinct difference between each, you can close on a sale of a better product. Try to point out the most positive aspects of the product picked by the customer. This way the customer is happy that he has made the right choice.

The point to upsell means to be able to satisfy a customer so that he becomes a permanent customer and always looks for the particular clerk that helped him in the first instance. By building a relationship, the customer is bound to return as he is assured that he will be taken care of personally and will be suggested the best products and services from the heap of merchandise on offer.

Before upselling any item, follow the upsell instructions that help you in improving your revenues on each and every sale. Use these three fast upsell instructions to raise the income for your trades.

‘Make sure that you ask’
Perhaps one of the biggest blocks in upselling is that the salesperson does not ask. This may happen because they are scared to ask. It might be because that they have not earned the right to ask. Another big problem is that they do not ask for referrals.

‘Know what you can cross sell and upsell’
The products should have a little to do with that of which they are ordering and that will match the products that they have ordered. It is very much critical to gain knowledge of what you will be able to upsell. It will alienate your clients if you try to sell them the products that are irrelevant to them. It is your duty to cross-sell and upsell the products at the correct time.

‘See that the basics are not screwed’
The products must be for less than 10 dollars, the product that you are trying to sell the customer. Some of them might not know the intricacies of selling a product, or might not know the skills, or may not have the experience. But cunning, subtlety, and experience are not at all the substitute for any kind of action. If he keeps on taking action, he will definitely outsell more, but may be less proactive. You might also wish for package plus elements with higher worth products. For example, counting that additional month’s supply of vitamins can encourage purchasers to select the yearly extended supply rather than that of the 3 month supply.

Google search engine provides all the information related to upselling and its strategies.

In our work with clients, we often hear this question from entrepreneurs who want to leverage the Internet and start marketing online: “Should I publish a newsletter?” As part of our Customized Newsletter Services program, we have reviewed hundreds of e-newsletters, or ezines, and can spot common errors immediately.

We have found ezines that work well for attracting new clients usually have these eight key ingredients:

1. A great name that defines the topic

2. A defined audience and clear purpose

3. A compelling headline or subject line

4. Valuable information readers can use

5. A call to action

6. A customized template or plain text formatting

7. A bonus incentive for subscribing

8. CAN-SPAM Compliance and a privacy statement

You will notice that the first five ingredients refer to the actual content of the ezine; the last three elements refer to how it is delivered. Each element contributes to the overall effectiveness of a newsletter for growing your business.

First, are newsletters really necessary for a strong online marketing system?

Should You Publish an Ezine?

If you want to leverage the Internet and expand your reach to a global audience of prospects interested in your products and service, you need to regularly write and publish a newsletter. Deliver it via email and post it on your website or blog.

Most marketing experts agree that a prospect must hear from you multiple times (at least 7 to 10) before he or she develops a sense of comfort and trust to buy from or hire you. Online this is probably longer since you have to convince a prospect with your written word. Email, because it is so inexpensive and easy to deliver, is an obvious choice for stay-in-touch relationship marketing.

A newsletter, when well written with useful information will strengthen your credibility and build relationships with readers. However, email is not without frustrations and problems.

It has become more difficult to obtain opt-in confirmations for subscriptions because people are cautious of spam and inbox overload. Email deliverability can be problematic, with over-zealous spam filters stopping legitimate ezines. We are all experiencing information overload not to mention marketing-fatigue.

So, if you publish an ezine, do it right and do it smart. Only in rare cases should you not include an ezine as part of your online marketing: if you can’t write; you don’t want to expand your business and grow a list of qualified leads; you have a strong referral source in place and do not need new prospects; and you have enough business already.

Having a blog is not a reason to stop publishing an ezine. The two have different styles, and are delivered to readers in different ways. We recommend doing both and linking and referring to both.

Having an ezine that your website and blog visitors can subscribe to is an important way to build a list of qualified leads. When people are interested in learning more about your business, you have an opportunity to inform, educate and inspire them. They are on their way to becoming clients.